Removing adhesive with an adhesive destructive compound



Patented Aug. 19, 1952 REMOVING ADHESIVE WITH AN ADHESIVE DESTRUCTIVECOMPOUND Ralph B. Oesting, Lake Bluff, 111., assignor to Paul-LewisLaboratories, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin NoDrawing. Application May 23, 1946, Serial No. 671,903

7 Claims. (Cl. 134-30) This invention relates to a compound which isuseful in facilitating the removal of porous materials, including wallpapers, labels, and casein base paints, from surfaces to which the saidmaterials are bound by an adhesive.

The difllculties encountered in removing wall paper are well recognizedand familiar to all, and a great deal of eifort and thought has beenbrought to bear on the problem. Yet, even with the aid of the mostprogressive methods, removal of wall paper still remains a tedious andtime-consuming chore. This is particularly the case when an overlayer ofpaint has been applied to the paper. Much the same can also be said ofthe difficulties experienced when removing labels from bottles or jars.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a new and improvedmethod for removing wall paper from walls. An equally important objectis to provide a compound which, upon application to the wall paper,greatly facilitates the removal thereof. A further object is to providea compound, and method of using the same, which is of materialassistance in removing labels and like articles from surfaces to whichthey are glued. Still another object is to provide a material whichassists in the removal of casein type paints and of wall papers havingan overlayer of such a paint, from walls or other surfaces, togetherwith a method of using the same The nature of these as well as otherobjects will become more apparent from a consideration of the followingdescription of my invention.

I have discovered that a compound made up of an enzyme together with awetting agent is useful in facilitating the removal of porous materialssuch as wall papers, labels, and casein type paints, for example, fromsurfaces to which the materials are held by an adhesive. The termadhesive includes pastes having starch as their principal ingredient aswell as those materials, commonly referred to as glues, in whichproteinaceous matter is present in significant amounts. This compound isapplied to the wall paper or other material to be removed in the form ofa solution which is preferably applied at the warm temperatureshereinafter specified. Following the application of the solution, andafter the elapse of a short soaking period during which the appliedsolution penetrates to and modifies, or

destroys, the adhesive, large sections of the wall paper or othermaterial to be removed may be pulled away from the underlying support.Any portions of the paper which still adhere can be freed after one ormore reapplications of the heated solution. For convenience ofdescription, the compound which contains the enzyme and the wettingagent is hereinafter referred to as an adhesive-destructive compound.

The nature of the enzyme which forms a part of the adhesive-destructivecompound will varydepending upon the type of adhesive encountered. Wallpapers are normally bound by a dried starch paste, an when dealing withan adhesive of this character or any other which contains a substantialamount of starch, the compound should contain an enzyme of the so-calleddiastatic type. For example, mold diastases, including Aspergillusoryzae, Aspergillus niger, Aspergz'llus alliaceus, Aspergillus wentii,and Penicillium glaucum, or malt diastases can be employed, as well asthose enzymes derived from such bacteria as Bacillus macerans, Bacillussubtz'lis, and Bacillus mesentericus. It may be noted that many of theenzymes mentioned have not only diastatic but also proteolyticqualities.

When dealing with an adhesive, as the conventional glues, which containa substantial amount of proteinaceous material, one or more enzymeshaving proteolytic qualities should be used. A large number of enzymesof the proteolytic type are useful in the practice of my invention.Suitable proteolytic enzymes, for example, are enzymes of plant originsuch as those commonly known as bromelin, flcin, and papain, as well asthose of the Caricaceae type, as Pileus mesm'canus; enzymes of moldorigin as those derived from Aspergillus Oryzae, Aspergillus niger,Aspergillus alliaceus, Aspergillus wentii, and Penicillium glaucum; andenzymes derived from the overall culture of bacterial organisms as, forexample, those derived from Bacillus macerans, Bacillus subtilis,Bacillus mesentericus, Clostridium welchii and C'lostridium sporogenes.

Most of the various enzymes are commercially available in dry,concentrate form. In preparing the adhesive-destructive compound, suchan enzyme concentrate is mixed with a wetting agent capable of wettingand penetrating through the wall paper, label, paint or other porousmaterial being treated, yet which will not inactivate the enzyme onbeing mixed therewith or when the compound is dissolved in water.

Suitable wetting agents. for example, are salts of hydrocarbonsulfonate. as sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate, alkyl phenyl sodiumsulfonate,sodium naphthalene sulfonate,sodium tetrahydronaphthalenesulfonate, and sodium isoproylnaphthalene sulfonate; salts of sulfonatedesters as sodium sulfonate of butyl ester of oleic acid, and sodiumsulfonate of dialkylsuccinate; sulfonated acids as sodium sulfonate ofricinoleic acid and sodium sulfonate of lauric acid; alkyl sulfates andderivatives thereof as sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium octyl sulfate,lauryl sulfate, and octyl sulfate; salts of sulfonated aromatic andarylalkyl ethers as the sodium salt of lauryl naphthyl ether, and thesodium salt of octyl naphthyl ether; an fatty acid esters of polyhydricalcohols as sorbitan monostearate and sorbitan monopalmitate. f thevarious wetting agents mentioned, I prefer to use one or more of thecompounds sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate, sodium tetrahydronaphthalenesulfonate, sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium octyl sulfate.

It will generally be found that the desired w tting agent is availablein the dry powder state, though some wetting agents are marketed asconcentrated solutions. For the purpose of this invention, either formof wetting agent may be used.

In general, the adhesive-destructive compounds should be made up of fromabout 50 to about '75 per cent by weight of the commercially availableenzyme concentrate together with from about 25 to about 50 per cent byweight of the wetting agent, these percentages being calculated on a dryWeight basis. Naturally, the proportion of ingredients used will varysomewhat, depending on the activity of the particular wetting agent orenzyme selected, but it is essential that both the enzyme and thewetting agent be used, as it is the co-operative relationship betweenthese materials which makes possible the results achieved by thisinvention.

When the adhesive-destructive compound is used, it is dissolved in waterin the proportion of at least about /2 ounce of the compound (again, ona dry weight basis) for each gallon of resulting solution. In certaincases, portions of the compound may not entirely dissolve or be held incolloidal suspension in the solution, but these elements may either beleft as a precipitate in the solution or they can be removed byfiltering. The preferred solutions are those containing from about /2 toabout 2 ounces of the adhesive-destructive compound for each gallon ofthe solution, and while solutions of greater concentration may beprepared and used with success, the further improvement in resultsobtained by so increasing the concentration is small and is not inproportion to the added amount of compound used. In some cases lesssatisfactory results are obtained when materially larger amounts ofwetting agents are used than set forth herein as desirable.

When dealing with solutions containing one or more of the mold or maltdiastases, together with the wetting agent, the solution should beapplied to the wall or other supporting surface at a temperature ofabout 110 to about 140 F'., and a preferred working range is from about130 F. to about 140 F. If a solution be employed containing a wettingagent and enzyme material of bacterial origin derived from Bacillusmacerans,

. I Bacillus subtilis, or Bacillus mesentcricus, and if the solution Bto be used primarily for its diastatic properties, the solution shouldpreferably be applied at temperatures ranging from about 120 to about180 F., the preferred working range being from about 180 to about 175 F.However, when the latter described solution, or a solution containingone or mom of the other enzymes described above as having protcolyticqualities, is used primarily for its proteolytic activity, the solutionshould be applied at temperatures ranging from about to about 120 F.,and preferably at a temperature of from about to about F. In any event,no temperature above the destructive temperature of the particularenzyme employed should be used.

The solution may be applied in any desired manner. For example, in thecase of wall papers, including those having an overlayer of a caseintype paint, the solution may be painted or sprayed onto the wall.

The time that the solution should be left in contact with the wall paperor other material to be removed will vary depending on the strength ofthe adhesive bond, the activity of the solution, the thickness orporosity of the pap r, and the presence or absence of an over coat, as apaint layer, on the paper. For conventional wall aper removingoperations, a soaking period of from about 15 to about 20 minutes willnormally be suilicient, though this period should be somewhat lengthenedwhen dealing with two or more thicknesses of paper. In some cases, asshort a soaking period as five minutes will serve to sumciently loosenthe paper that it may readily be pulled from the wall.

when the adhesive-destructive compound described above has been employedto remove wall paper or paint from a well. there is no danger that theportions of the said compound which may remain on the wall will serve todestroy the adhesive bond between later applied pap rs or paint and thesaid well. Most of the enzyme applied lodges in the wall paper or othermaterial removed, and the quantity of enzyme left on the wall, even whenthe latter is not washed after the removal operation, is insufllcient tomodify tainy later applied adhesive under normal condions.

The following examples will serve to illustrate the manner in which myinvention finds application.

Erample I It was desired to remove a layer of wall paper from aconventional, plastered, wall surface. An adhesive-destructive compoundwas made up which consisted of about 66 per cent by weight of Bacillussubtilis enzyme concentrate, together with about 34 per cent by weightof a wetting agent consisting of sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate. Thiscompound was dissolved in water heated to a temperature of about FL, inthe proportion of about one ounce of the compound for each gallon ofwater. The resulting heated solution was painted on the wall paper to beremoved, a sufflcien't quantity of the solution being applied as tothoroughly soak the paper. At the expiration of a period of about 15minutes after the heated solution had been applied to the wall paper, itwas found that large sections of the paper could readily be torn awayfrom the wall. The remaining adhering portions were easily removed witha scraping tool. On removal or the paper it was noted that very littleof the old paste remained on the wall surface, and the few portions ofthe paste which did remain were readily removed when the wall wassponged lightly with water.

Example II It was desired to remove a coating of caseintype paint whichhad been applied over a plastered wall surface. In this case, anadhesive destructive compound was made up which consisted of about 66per cent by weight of an enzyme concentrate of ficin, together withabout 34 per cent by weight of a wetting agent consisting of sodium-Example III The labels were to be removed from glass jars to which thelabels were firmly glued. For this purpose, an adhesive destructivecompound was prepared which consisted of about 50 per cent by weight ofan enzyme concentrate of Bacillus subtilis, about per cent by weight ofan enzyme concentrate of Aspergz'llus oryzae and about per cent byWeight of a sodium lauryl sulfate wetting agent. This compound wasdissolved in water heated to a temperature of about 115 F., a quantityof about 1 ounce of the compound being dissolved in each gallon of thehot water. The heated solution was applied to all surfaces of thelabels, and the latter was then allowed to stand for a period of about10 minutes. At the expiration of this time, the labels were readilypulled away from the jars, and the remaining glue particles were easilywashed off the bottles with the aid of a damp cloth.

I claim:

1. In a method of removing porous material from a supporting surface towhich the said material is bound by an adhesive of the class consistingof starches and proteins, the steps comprising applying to said materialan aqueous solution containing an enzyme and a wetting agent; allowingtime for said solution to soak through said material and act on theadhesive; and removing said material from said supporting surface; saidmethod being characterized by a substantial destruction of the adhesivebond existing between said material and its supporting surface.

2. In a method for removing porous material from a supporting surface towhich the said material is bound by an adhesive containing a substantialamount of starch, the steps comprising applying to said material anaqueous solution containing at least one enzyme having diastaticproperties together with a wetting agent; allowing time for saidsolution to soak through said material and act on the adhesive; andremoving said material from said supporting surface; said method beingcharacterized by a substantial destruction of the adhesive bond existingbetween said material and its supporting surface.

3. In a method for removing porous material from a supporting surface towhich said material is bound by an adhesive containing a substantialamount of starch, the steps comprising applying to said material anaqueous solution heated to a temperature of from about to about F.,containing at least about one-half ounce, for each gallon of solution,of a compound made up of from about 50 to about 75 per cent by weight ofa concentrate of at least one enzyme selected fromthe group consistingof malt diastases and enzymes derived from Aspergillus oryzae,Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus alliaceus, Aspergillus wentii, andPenicillium glaucum, together with from about 25 to about 50 per cent byweight of at least one wetting agent selected from the group consistingof sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate, sodium tetrahydronaphthalenesulfonate, sodium lauryl sulfate, and sodium octyl sulfate; allowingsaid solution to soak through said material and act on said adhesive;and removing said material from said supporting surface; said methodbeing characterized by a substantial destruction of the adhesive bondexisting between said material and its supporting surface.

4. In a method of removing porous material from a supporting surface towhich said material is bound by an adhesive containing a substantialamount of starch, the steps comprising applying to said material anaqueous solution heated to a temperature of from about 120 to about F.,containing at least about one-half ounce, for each gallon of solution,of a compound made up of from about 50 to about 75 per cent by weight ofa concentrate of at least one enzyme selected from the group consistingof those derived from Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus macemns, and Bacillusmesentericus, together with from about 25 to about 50 per cent by weightof at least one wetting agent selected from the group consisting ofsodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate, sodium tetrahydronaphthalene sulfonate,sodium lauryl sulfate, and sodium octyl sulfate; allowing time for saidsolution to soak through said material and act on said adhesive; andremoving said material from said supporting surface; said method beingcharacterized by a substantial destruction of the adhesive bond existingbetween said material and its supporting surface.

5. In a method of removing porous material from a supporting surface towhich the said material is bound by an adhesiveof the class consistingof starches and proteins, the steps comprising applying to said materialan aqueous solution containing an enzyme and a wetting agent at atemperature materially in excess of normal atmospheric temperatures andbelow temperatures destructive to the enzyme; allowing time for saidsolution to soak through the material and to act on the adhesive; andremoving the material from the supporting surface upon substantialdestruction of the adhesive bond by the action of the enzyme assisted bysaid agent in penetrating to such adhesive.

6. A method of removing a material in the nature of an adhesive of theclass consisting of starches and proteins from a supporting wall surfacetowhich said material is adhesively bound, such method comprisingexternally coating the exposed material with an aqueous solution of anenzyme and a wetting agent and removing said material from the wallsurface after a sufficient lapse of time for the enzyme to destroy thebond between the wall surface and such material after penetratingthrough the material with the assistance of the wetting agent.

7. The method recited in claim 6 in which the aqueous solution is heatedwhen wiped on to such material at a temperature materially in excess2,607,809 7 oi normal atmospheric temperatures and below Numbertemperatures destructive to the enzyme content. 2,020,647 RALPH B.OES'IING. 2,029,970 2,052,894 REFERENCES CITED 5 2,389,208 The followingreferences are of record in the me of this patent. Demand:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 525,823 Takamine Sept. 11, 18941,590,683 Altaelt et a1 June 29, 1926 1,883,279 Prelinghwsen Oct. 11,1932 8 Name Date Hunwicke Nov. 13. 1935 Waller-stein Feb. 4, 1930Leather-man Sept. 1, 1936 Bchmitt Feb. 13, 1945 OTHER REFERENCESAmerican Illustrated Medical Dictionary. p e 149, W. B. Saunders 00..Phila- 10 delphia 1923. (CopyinDiv. 55.)

Tauber: Enzyme Technology, 1943, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., pages 08. 71and 128.

6. A METHOD OF REMOVING A MATERIAL IN THE NATURE OF AN ADHESIVE OF THECLASS CONSISTING OF STARCHES AND PROTEINS FROM A SUPPORTING WALL SURFACETO WHICH SAID MATERIAL IS ADHESIVELY BOUND, SUCH METHOD COMPRISINGEXTERNALLY COATING THE EXPOSED MATERIAL WITH AN AQUEOUS SOLUTION OF ANENZYME AND A WETTING AGENT AND REMOVING SAID MATERIAL FROM THE WALLSURFACE AFTER A SUFFICIENT LAPSE OF TIME FOR THE ENZYME TO DESTROY THEBOND BETWEEN THE WALL SURFACE AND SUCH MATERIAL AFTER PENETRATINGTHROUGH THE MATERIAL WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE WETTING AGENT.